Konda Surekha hits back at Revanth Reddy after Cabinet exit, alleges conspiracy

Minutes after being dropped from the Telangana Cabinet, Konda Surekha hit back at Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, alleging a conspiracy involving his brothers, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and others. She also accused the government of politically and administratively marginalising her.

Hyderabad: Minutes after Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced that Forest Minister Konda Surekha would be dropped from his Cabinet, she hit back, charging that a conspiracy had been hatched against her by the Chief Minister’s brothers and a few others, including Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy.

“There is Kondal Reddy, Tirupati Reddy, Rajya Sabha MP Vem Narender Reddy, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and others behind the conspiracy,” Surekha alleged.

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Explaining why she was being targeted, Surekha said the Revenue Minister had been partial towards her ever since he was appointed in-charge of the erstwhile Warangal district.

Speaking to a news channel, she termed the high command’s approval to drop her from the Cabinet ‘unfortunate’. She said there was no need for the party high command to hatch conspiracies against her.

“The Chief Minister had blackmailed the AICC leadership and said he would quit if action was not taken against me,” Surekha maintained.

The Forest Minister also wrote letters to AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and other AICC leaders, seeking their intervention and justice over what she described as political and administrative suppression in the State Cabinet.

Surekha charged that she was being politically and administratively marginalised as a BC Minister under the Chief Minister. “Several decisions concerning my departments are being taken through direct instructions from the Chief Minister’s Office without consulting me,” she said in the letter.

She said she had no regrets over the outcome as she had not committed any mistake. On her future course of action, Surekha said she would consult her supporters before taking a decision.

The turmoil in the State Cabinet followed allegations by the Forest Minister’s daughter, Konda Sushmitha, that the Chief Minister had offered prime land to his brother’s shell company at a throwaway price.

Since then, a few Congress MLAs and MLCs had demanded action against Surekha and wanted her to at least condemn her daughter’s comments.

“How can I be held responsible for my daughter’s comments?” Surekha asked. Referring to Sushmitha, she said she was an adult and had every right to express her views, adding that the remarks represented the opinion of an individual.

Surekha also questioned why similar standards were not being applied elsewhere, referring to a BJP MP from the former Minister D Srinivas’s family.

She further claimed that many MLAs and leaders working under the Chief Minister were unhappy and appealed to them to speak openly about the hardships they were facing.

“Today it happened with me and it could happen with you (leaders) as well. You don’t get time to meet or submit a representation regarding any work. Even if it is received, there is no assurance that the work will be sanctioned,” she said.

The Warangal East MLA also suggested that the Congress should conduct a ground-level survey to assess the government’s performance.

“As the government failed to fulfil the promises made to the people, there is a lot of opposition. To cover up these failures, there is a need to deliver the promises,” Surekha said.